France Becomes The First Country To Ban Plastic Silverware, Plates and Cups

France has taken another step in it’s efforts to become more environmentally conscious by banning all plastic cutlery, cups, and plates. The bill went into effect last month, but producers have until 2020 to make sure that their products are being made with biologically sourced material that is bio-degradable.

The measure was initially proposed by France’s greens group, the EELV party; In order to cut back in energy usage and pollution creation. There are also concerns about the health effects of drinking hot liquids from plastic cups, as there is evidence to suggest that toxins leech into the liquid.

Every year about 4.73 billion plastic cups are thrown away each year, and of that only about 1% is recycled. Having these common products be compostable is a huge leap in lowering the amount of non biodegradable objects that end up in landfills and in our oceans.